The Whitecaps, meanwhile, secured the West’s No. 2 seed thanks in part to Waston, who headed in his side’s second goal in a 3-0 home win over Houston, while recording four interceptions, six clearances and three blocked shots, as well as winning a match-leading seven headers.

The Frenchman put in a strong defensive showing to help the Red Bulls secure their second Supporters’ Shield title in three seasons with a 2-1 win at the Chicago Fire, producing eight clearances, three tackles and two interceptions.

The 29-year-old set up Kelyn Rowe’s strike in the Revs’ 3-1 win over New York City FC with a pinpoint corner, while putting in a solid shift on both sides of the ball throughout the 90 minutes to help ease his side into the post-season with a fifth place finish in the East.

Ulloa showed why he’s been the unsung hero for the West’s top team this term in Sunday’s 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, adding four tackles and six clearances to the deciding goal, while also creating four chances.

RM – Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew)

The Crew winger scored twice inside a minute in the thrashing of D.C. to send Jurgen Klinsmann a reminder of his US national team credentials ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers.

LM – Kekuta Manneh (Vancouver Whitecaps)

Vancouver’s 20-year-old winger opened the scoring in the second half against the Dynamo with a long-range blast to give him a career-high seven goals on the season.

The newly-naturalised US citizen looks back to his best heading into the playoffs, as he bagged his first brace since 2012 to help Portland thump the Colorado Rapids 4-1 at a rain-soaked Providence Park and seal the West’s third seed in the process.

The former Tottenham Hotspur forward made sure there was no chance of an upset in his side’s meeting with Real Salt Lake, scoring twice and setting up another in a 3-1 win that saw Sigi Schmid’s men finish fourth in the West.

The playoff-bound Impact were 1-0 down to Toronto FC until their star Designated Player took control of the match in the 54th-minute, bagging a backheel brace inside a minute to finish the regular-season with 11 goals in just 11 games. Perhaps he left Chelsea too soon?

Freddie Shires

Freddie is a freelance sports writer, having recently completed an MA in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. With an especially keen interest in all things American sports-related, he has written extensively about the NFL, MLS and the U.S. national team for various sites.